In a brave attempt to rescue Princess Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker disguises himself as an Imperial Stormtrooper and infiltrates the detention center of the Death Star.

With rumors going as far back as 2015 right here at Jedi Temple Archives, Hasbro finally released the trash compactor-specific Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) character, but in the 6” figure range as part of The Black Series line. And we don’t think it is getting the accolades it deserves. A very scene-specific version of Luke Skywalker in stormtrooper gear, this version of the character focuses on his interaction with the trash compactor’s dianoga, and how it pulled him into the filth liquid at the bottom of it. Luke Skywalker is without the stormtrooper helmet in this scene, so it’s inclusion is pointless, unless you’re looking for an offscreen moment that never existed. Either way, with an all-new head sculpt sporting wet slicked-back hair and beautiful “photorealistic” technology, Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) is a fantastic looking figure and puts its predecessor to complete shame. The Black Series [Phase II]Luke Skywalker (#12) figure is quite an embarrassment by comparison. A TARGET exclusive, Hasbro is smart to focus on so many products that focus on the Original Trilogy. And between this figure and The Vintage Collection’sHan Solo (Stormtrooper) (VC143) figure, also a TARGET exclusive, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is getting quite a bit of love this year from Hasbro. We welcome them all with open arms.

Let’s revisit some of the important details of Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) and why it’s an important release. During the NYCC Preview Party in 2014, Jedi Temple Archives learned that Luke Skywalker (#12) (the figure was only in its infancy prototype stage at this point) would be coming with a retooled torso to make him “a little short for a stormtrooper.” It was hard to tell from what was displayed, but this detail came to pass upon the figure’s release. Hasbro tooled an all-new torso for Luke Skywalker, and not only does this give him the necessary shortened height to keep him proportionate to Han Solo, but it also removes the obnoxious hole on his back (since the base sculpt is a Sandtrooper). What’s more, the ball-jointed waist is extra-tight, most likely due to the newly tooled parts and clicks with each movement. And it locks the figure into place as needed. It’s a wonderful articulation system. Also newly tooled is an all-new utility belt. It has a “holster” for the included comlink accessory, but there is other gear on the back of the belt as well. It’s little details like this that prevent figures to start looking like clones of each other in the same scale when they’re not supposed to look like clones of each other. Now, Hasbro makes great use of this revised base sculpts and creates a stunning version of Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape). Collectors will love him.

Just like the other figures that utilize stormtrooper armor, Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) comes with an astounding 30 points of articulation. The use of premium insert-molded ball-jointed articulation coupled with both ball-socket and double hinge-jointed articulation gives Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) a wealth of articulation for all your articulation needs. Even swivel articulation has been worked into the biceps and thighs to give the figure incredibly human like movement when posing it. Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) has a beautiful new portrait. From both front view and side view this looks very much like Luke Skywalker. You will most likely be as thrilled with the results as we have; we’re sure of it. Luke Skywalker comes with the same comlink and E-11 blaster that the first version of this figure had. We don’t see any paint operation differences. The removable helmet is carried forward as well, but it’s also repainted. Hasbro is now adding clear display stand with exclusive The Black Series [Phase III] 6” figures. And Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) has one too. We don’t find them too functional, but your mileage (and opinion) may vary. We may not need Han Solo (in stormtrooper outfit) with wet hair, but we certainly could stand to see a repaint with updated deco. If Hasbro keeps this quality up, they’ll continue to acquire new fans with every new release. Great job, Hasbro!

Collector Notes

Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape)

Status: Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape) is a retool and repaint of 2015's TBS [P2] Luke Skywalker (#12) figure. This time the figure has been given an all-new portrait with "photorealistic technology) and the armor has been repainted to include dirt and debris from the trash compactor.